


Reina

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [47]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Aizen being Aizen, Gen, Starrk and Lilynette's original form
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 02:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3363803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Author's Note: Just something short I've had on my hard drive for a while. Not sure I'll continue it. What do you think?</p>
    </blockquote>





	Reina

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Just something short I've had on my hard drive for a while. Not sure I'll continue it. What do you think?

Kyoraku Shunsui truly thought he had won.

He'd used his shikai perfectly. He'd taken Coyote Starrk across the chest. He'd seen the man's hollow hole breaking, seen him falling towards the ground as the wound spewed blood. And he hadn't felt good about it. No, he'd deeply regretted the man's death. He remembered, more than anything, the way Starrk had called for Lilinette and the way he had looked when she failed to respond. And there had just been something about those weary grey eyes…

Dismissing the Espada, he turned to Rose and Love. Then he froze as he felt something, saw the shock on the faces of the two Visored. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the enemy he'd thought was done was up again.

Only… he wasn't. Shunsui slowly turned back as he noticed the Espada's appearance had changed. Blood splattered the ragged remains of his shirt, but it seemed far too loose on his frame. Shunsui spoke the words to release his swords, mentally planning attacks as he tried to understand what had changed. The arrancar's hair was the same, and so was the windowed eyepatch. But he was lacking his beard? And his face had –

Shunsui's mind abruptly screeched to a halt as the wind caught that uniform, molding it to his – _her_ body for a moment. The shapely breasts were clearly revealed beneath the thin fabric. Then, to his further shock, the arrancar spoke.

"Where am I?" Her voice was a warm contralto and sounded quite confused. "…What am I doing here?" She asked as he shook away his shock before he moved. He needed to take advantage of this – "Hm?" A hand caught the edge of Katen Kyokotsu and his eyes went wide. He hadn't even seen her move! But she hadn't noticed his second weapon and the assassin's blade took her in the belly –

"Ow?" She said in a weary and resigned way that suddenly reminded Shunsui irresistibly of the man he'd fought. Swallowing hard, he realized only the barest tip of his weapon had broken through her skin. And he'd struck with full force. "Why is a shinigami trying to kill me? Aside from the obvious?"

"You don't remember?" That was Rose's voice. He was watching the proceedings with horrified fascination. Love was also staring but he was clearly considering taking action. She flicked them a bored glance and he suddenly noticed her eye was dark red. It reminded him of old, dried blood.

"The last thing I remember is giving in to madness." She said and Shunsui blinked. "What happened after that, I cannot say. But I must have done something odd, in my insanity. This is not Hueco Mundo." She sounded very puzzled by that. "…Oh. My apologies." She was looking down at something and Shunsui stared before realizing what he was seeing.

"JUU!" His best friend was starting to vanish. Jumping into flash step he completely ignored the arrancar, going to Juushiro's side. As soon as he touched him, though, he knew the wounds shouldn't be fatal. What was…?

_Her reiatsu._ He hadn't noticed the dreadful pull – he'd been too involved in what he was doing and he was too strong to succumb to it – but now he felt it. Forming his power into a shield, he covered Juushiro with it, keeping the power from devouring him. Looking up he glared at the arrancar. Just in time to see Rose and Love attack. The woman did nothing but dodge, but with movements so fast they were a little difficult to follow. Shunsui was sure he could cope with that – he was almost as fast – but he had the distinct feeling she was exerting the bare minimum of effort necessary to evade the Visored.

"Kyoraku taichou, I will take care of him." Hachi. The rotund Visored gently picked up Juushiro, despite the wound. "I have set up a kido ward for all the fukutaichou. They were being crushed." He said and Shunsui was struck by the measured fear in his eyes.

"Crushed?" He swallowed a bit at the thought. For her to effortlessly devour a wounded man… well, that might be expected, even with Juushiro's power. But to do the same to fukutaichou level powers… and she had _apologized._ Did she not even mean to do it? Hachi just nodded and flash stepped away, carrying Juushiro to safety. Shunsui squared his shoulders and went to join the battle. They had to end this thing.

"I don't even want to be here…" The arrancar was protesting in a half-hearted way as she dodged the Visored's strikes. "I don't know why we're fighting…"

"Because you chose to fight for that bastard, Aizen!" Love retorted and the woman suddenly paused, a startled look.

"Aizen?" She turned her head to look. Aizen was watching all of them with interest. "Oh. I do remember now." She seemed to ruminate on it for a moment. "But I don't see why I should fight shinigami on the behalf of another shinigami for something he didn't deliver."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, which was something Shunsui was more than a little curious about. He watched the arrancar with thoughtful eyes, considering the best way to launch his attack as she spoke.

"He promised to make me weaker and give me companions, comrades. He did make me weaker, but not as I am now… the thing I was before, the shape of my insanity, was what he made weaker. Now that I have returned to myself his dampening is broken." That was worrying, to say the least. Then her voice turned very sad. "And he might have given me people to be around, but not one of them wanted to be my friend. I frightened them too much. And for good reason…" She ruminated for a moment before shrugging and lifting a hand. A garganta warped the sky behind her. "It doesn't matter. I'm leaving." The two Visored exchanged a glance and Shunsui's eyes narrowed. Surely it wouldn't be that easy.

It wasn't, although that was for an unexpected reason.

"Shoot to kill, Shinso." The steely hiss of the weapon interrupted them all and the arrancar was forced to jump back, away from her garganta. "Maa, Starrk-san, leaving us so soon? Aizen-sama ain't happy." Gin said with his foxy smile. She turned towards him, her eyes wide.

"I didn't see you. I didn't feel you. How did you do that?" She asked and Gin's smile faded as he noted the differences in the arrancar. "Oh. You didn't do that. He did." She turned her head to look at Aizen and Shunsui grimaced to himself as he realized what she was referring to. Complete Hypnosis. "I don't like that. Nothing should trick me like that…" She said and her power began to rise. Rose and Love were both breathless as the power increased beyond what they were capable of sensing. Shinso shot out again but this time the arrancar caught it in one hand. Gin's eyes opened at the sight of his weapon, trembling in that rock hard grasp.

Then there was a sudden _snap._ Shunsui blinked as he realized something had… changed. Looking into the sky, he realized that wasn't Aizen. Hinamori? She seemed dazed and somehow, the arrancar's power wasn't killing her.

"Oh shit!" Love yelped and Shunsui followed his gaze, his stomach clenching. Aizen was within Hachi's barrier! Abruptly, he understood. The man had somehow switched places with Momo and used Complete Hypnosis to fool them. The Espada had just broken the trance, freed them from Aizen's shikai. But that meant the fukutaichou were in deadly danger –

He completely ignored the Espada, heading for the barrier. He was vaguely aware of Love and Rose following him and the arrancar vanishing down her garganta as Gin abandoned her in favor of the chaos the battlefield had suddenly become. In the back of his mind, though, he noted it for later.

He was sure they would see Coyote Starrk again.


End file.
